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Holidays in Barcelona: Park Guell, The Sagrada Familia, Mataro and more

My first trip to Barcelona was in 2013 with my friend Carol when this blog was just a few months old.

We had several mishaps including missing our flight over, paying about €100 each for a new one (I was broke for months after) and I accidentally broke the glass shower door in the apartment we were staying in!

Despite this, I had an amazing time and always wanted to go back. My boyfriend and I discussed going last year but went to Biarritz instead.

My first trip with Carol and my, I had a lot of accessories back then

This year I was lucky enough to be able to take a long holiday and we settled on Barcelona.

Park Guell, Barcelona

We chose an Airbnb in Gracia, a bustling hipster neighbourhood, full of cafes and bars and only ten minutes walk from the Rambla de Catalunya.

I had actually stayed in Gracia the last time but I didn’t realise until we were out for a walk and came across the street – I almost fell into a hole in the ground with excitement!

Another random discovery we made was finding Balenciaga’s former house/shop.

Balenciaga’s gaff

We didn’t make an itinerary but what we did want to do is relax, enjoy some good food and drinks and catch up with some friends.

Temperatures were around 25C to 28C but it was still very warm given we’d just came from Ireland! Luckily for us, our apartment had air conditioning.

Chilling the beans in Park Guell

We arrived late on a Tuesday night so after ducking into a kebab shop (the only place open that late), we headed home to bed.

The next morning we went to a little square to grab a coffee and then took the metro into the city.

We bought a five-day unlimited metro pass which proved to be excellent value. You can also buy shorter ones and we later bought a three day one for the final few days.

We wandered around the Barrio Gotico, the beautiful old Gothic quarter but returned home after a couple of hours as it was very hot.

This beautiful park is Barcelona’s answer to Phoenix Park, with the Barcelona Zoo, a lake where you can hire a rowing boat and much more.

After a quick walk around the park, we made for Barceloneta and enjoyed a delicious paella with black rice.

That night, we went for drinks in Gracia and dinner in a Syrian restaurant. We were spoiled for choice in Gracia as it has an abundance of restaurants with cuisines from all around the world and every type of bar also.

Unfortunately I felt quite ill the next day, however, we’d booked tickets for Park Guell so I had to suck it up and go.

Park Guell trencadis mosiac

It was roasting climbing up to Carmel Hill which leads up to Park Guell.

Park Guell

Outside Park Guell

View from Park Guell

The Sagrada Familia in the distance

The park was originally meant to be a residential area for wealthy families, designed by Antoni Gaudi and his mentor Eusebi Guell.

This is why it is spelled “Park” rather than “Parc” as it was meant to resemble an English estate.

However, only two houses were ever built and it ended up being gardens and a tourist attraction.

It took me a while to relax up there as I am terrified of heights but it was an experience I would 100% recommend!

It was pretty pricey but you’re paying for the view as well as the drinks!

We headed into the city for a Mexican dinner followed by mojitos in Bar Miramelindo.

Getting home was problematic as we missed the last metro and it proved very difficult to get a taxi (possibly because it was Dia de Catalunya).

Cocktail at Terraza Alaire

On the way home, we nipped into a Cuban mojito bar called El Sabor to watch people salsa dancing to amazing reggaeton tunes but I wasn’t too impressed with the bar service.

Service in some of the bars and restaurants wasn’t great but as the minimum wage in Spain is pretty low I can understand why.
Another place I was not impressed with was a shop in Gracia called In Love With. I really wanted to look at their dupe bags and shoes, however, when I went in 15 minutes before closing, the owner started to scream at me in Spanish to get out!

I later discovered it has a lot of bad Google reviews…

While my boyfriend slept in the next day, I hit the Rambla de Catalunya to shop.
There were all the usual chain shops, including Zara, Mango, H&M, as well as designer stores and I picked up a t-shirt and black pinafore dress in H&M.

We intended to go to the beach that evening but a MASSIVE storm erupted and went on for at least 40 mins, pouring rain, thunder, and lightning.